INFLUENCE OF SELECTED SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS ON SWIMMING SKILLS OF YOUNG POLISH WOMEN AGED 19-20

Robert Podstawski,Renata Gizińska and Ewelina Kolankowska

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to assess the influence of selected environmental factors on the level of swimming skills exhibited by young Polish women. Swimming skills were expressed as the ability to swim, the distance swum, and the familiarity with selected swimming strokes. The research was conducted with 298 young Polish women aged 19-20 as participants, all of them residing in Warmia and Mazury Province, Poland. A diagnostic survey was conducted using an anonymous questionnaire. Out of the analyzed environmental factors only the place of permanent residence and an available monthly budget were found to have significantly (p = 0.0001) influenced measures of swimming skills (i.e. the ability to swim, the distance swum, and the familiarity with selected swimming strokes, respectively). The increasing level of urbanization and a higher monthly budget positively influenced the women’s performance in swimming as there were only few women who were unable to swim even a single meter. Moreover, the latter factor also positively affected the number of swimming strokes the study participants could perform. The remaining factors (i.e. parents’ educational background, the distance between the place of residence and the nearest lake, and the proximity of beaches at the nearest lake) revealed a complete lack of relationships with the swimming skill measures.
Keywords: Skills, Socioeconomic and Strokes.